Weekly Wrap-Up: September 23

 

I think we are finally getting into a groove with our week, it feels good!

On Monday, we have our new co-op, we joined this group over the summer and have really enjoyed getting to know some "other" homeschooling families.  It's definitely a relaxed homeschool group, so we are fitting right in.  Our classes start next Monday.  The kids are taking drama, hand building clay, hands-on science, photography and more.  It should be a fun time.  We're pretty excited.

Tuesday we enjoyed at home - I caught up on some housework.  S worked on some math and writing, two things she really wanted to do.  A volunteered at a golf outing, it was a great experience for her.

On Wednesday, we finally had our egg drop for Invention Convention club.  Each family brought miscellaneous materials from home, and then each child made an egg container designed to keep an egg safe in a fall.  Then, we dropped the eggs.  Most of the designs were successful.  It was a great experiment.  My kids have still been talking about how they would change their design, so we might go drop another set of eggs.

Thursday was at the park with our new group of Unschooler friends.  It was great to connect with friends - I had fun, the kids had a blast.  The park was awesome - playground and skate park, two of our favorite things.

Today we had Leaves of Learning.  The kids are loving their classes, and making some new friends.  All in all a great addition to our week.

Tonight, A had her second social dance lesson with a group of local homeschooled teens.  It looks so much fun, I want to join in. The teens seem very nice and friendly.   Tonight they worked on spins - A said she was very dizzy.  She also said it was very fun.

So, crazy, full week, but it was good.  Next week I start teaching hands-on science - I'm a little nervous.  We're focusing on lemons for our first class, I'll share the experiments we're going to try in my next post.

To see what other homeschoolers are up to, stop by Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers Weekly Wrap-Up.

Facebook

You might have noticed that I haven't posted to my blog for a while (a month, if you're counting).  I blame it all on Facebook!  That place is addictive.  Instant gratification - post a comment, someone replies or "likes" it.  Instant feedback.  Fun, right?  And there are games - oh my gosh, don't get me started on the games!  I absolutely love Farmville - like to the point of serious addiction to farming.  Who knew?

So, anyway, I have made a commitment to myself to start blogging again, about our days, about homeschooling/unschooling in Cincinnati, and about how we're doing what we do.

I also will have a giveaway coming up in the next day or two - so please stay tuned.

Hoping to spend less time on Facebook and more time blogging and writing and crafting and spending time with my children.  Wish me luck.

Enjoying the days of summer

I haven't blogged for a while, sorry about that.  We've been enjoying a lot of outdoor time - at parks, at local lakes, at the pool, in the neighborhood.   Just soaking up the rays, I guess.

It's that time of year when my kids start thinking that they might want to go back to school - I don't blame them, it is exciting with all the back to school hype.  I sort of want to go back too. :)

That said, we are gearing up for another year of homeschooling.  I find as time progresses, we are more and more relaxed, so it should be an interesting year of growth for us.  I posted our curriculum choices a month or two ago, our plan is still to follow that loosely, but leave room for other interests as they occur. 

Our Garden

So, this year we planted tomatoes (lots), cucumbers, jalapeno peppers, cayenne peppers, cilantro and marigolds (supposed to deter pests from the tomatoes).   I don't think the marigolds are working though.

Last week, we had whiteflies all over the tomatoes.

This week we had lots (way too many) of these big guys.  Tomato hornworm (yuck).

 The white rice-like thingies are wasp eggs.  The wasp babies will eat the hornworm, and then the "grown-up" wasps will attach other hornworms.  I did leave one or two hornworms that had the white eggs.  The rest were removed and dunked into a bucket of water.  They are very squishy and large.  Yuck-o!

The kids tried to help but were all grossed out by the squish factor.

Enjoy your garden and may it be pest-free.

Quote that I'm loving today

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree,
it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." by Albert Einstein

I'm curious!

As the summer moves ahead, I'm talking to many families who are planning on sending their homeschooled children to high school within the next year or two.  And always my first thought is - are you crazy??  Since we already went the school route, and realized that it wasn't actually working out so well, I don't actually see traditional public high school as an option for us (although I can't say never, since who knows what the future holds.)

So, I'm curious - I'm putting up a poll to see what you think about the possibility of high school?  Please take a minute to vote.  Thanks!

Summer

Summer is flying by in our neck of the woods.  We've been spending our time swimming, playing with friends, seeing free movies (love that program) and just enjoying the relaxation of summer time.

I'm still reading tons of books:
The Unschooling Manual by Mary Griffith (great read - I need to post some of the resource recommendations)
The Explosive Child by Ross Greene (this one was recommended on a list I'm on, not sure I agree with all of his views, but it does have some helpful advice)
Hamlet (trying to expand my horizons)
The Big Book of Children's Reading Lists:  100 Great, Ready-to-Use Book Lists (oh my gosh, this book is AWESOME, I totally want it, but am waiting until I find a great deal.)
Book Crush by Nancy Pearl (apparently I'm a little obsessed with finding interesting books for my kiddos to read - this is another great book, I picked it up at a library sale - bargain!  Great ideas for books based on interests.)

The kids and I have all been reading a ton - we're trying to win Nook e-Colors in our local library summer reading program.  Great prize, right?

Until next time!